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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
  • JudyfromMoody
  • Glenn Stewart
Jun – Jul 2024

Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

We’re taking a 33 day trip to visit the Avant retirees that live in AL, NC, VA, PA, NJ, ME, Canada, MI and IN. We’ll take them out for a meal, give them a gift bag and listen to their stories. We want to encourage, bless and listen to their stories. Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 25, 2024
    Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 1 Tyler, Texas - Sikeston, Missouri

    June 25, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 93 °F

    Tyler, Tx - Sikeston, Mo
    30, 047 - 30, 576
    Total 529 miles

    We left Tyler at 5:24am, just before sunrise. We listened to soft instrumental music to keep the girls asleep as much as possible.

    Being creative, we had an indoor picnic at Holiday inn. Just too hot to be outside 95 degrees.

    We had 1 meal for all 4 of us at Lamberts Cafe. Yum. Chicken fried steak. Famous for their “Throwed rolls”.

    The girls were out by 6pm on their pallets on the floor. Proud of them. No accidents “potty” ALL DAY. They are tired.

    We’ve enjoyed Annie, 4 and Amanda 2. Nothing melts my heart more than hearing the words, “hey Grammie, where’s Granddad?”

    Tomorrow, Ellen drives down and picks Annie and Amanda up and we continue on our Member Care trip to visit the Avant Retirees that live along the East coast.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 2 Sikeston, MO- Pinson, AL

    June 26, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 91 °F

    Sikeston, Missouri - Pinson, Alabama via Nashville, Tennessee
    Miles - 30,576 to 30,979
    TOTAL 403

    The girls slept ok. Annie got up several times to potty and then was frightened by the lightening and thundering.

    We ate breakfast and waited for Ellen to arrive at 9:30. Glenn exchanged all the goods, car seats and stuff from the RAV4 into Ellen’s van.

    We left at 10:20am in pouring rain and drive towards Nashville. We had a brief 15min stop at Glenna and Jim’s house and then onto Dean and Linda Self’s place. We’ve known the Cooks since my days of working with Billy Graham team.

    We had dinner and lovely conversation over the casserole and home-grown vegetables from Linda’s garden. We watched the Copa America and played Chronology. Glenn worked a puzzle.

    Dean and Linda served with us in Bolivia and then with CAM/Avant here in the US. I get on a weekly zoom call with Linda every Friday morning with 3 other missionary ladies from Bolivia days.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 3 Pinson, Al - Sanford,NC

    June 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    550 miles

    Rained off and on all day. It was a hard day of driving. All interstate.

    We drive thru Atlanta before the 2 big events. Copa America soccer game and Trump-Biden debate.

    We arrived at Forrest and Carol in time for a delicious meal followed by watching the debate.

    Tired. Glad to be with friends from Guatemala. Carol and I share the same birthday. We’ve known Carol and Forrest for 15 years and enjoy our friendship.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 4 Sanford, NC - Fuquay-Varina, NC

    June 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    46 miles

    We slept in. I had my normal Friday morning zoom call with Virginia and Beverly. While setting watermelon for breakfast, we played Phase 10. Great conversation and laughs.

    We had a leisurely drive to Linda Miller’s house. Glenn called up HS classmate Martha Seiford Smallwood, who lives in this same town and she drive over for a 1 hour visit.

    Wow, all the connections we made, people she knew and people she worked with. Linda and her late husband both graduated from Moody Bible Institute and met while working in Mexico. Linda with OM and John with Central America Mission.

    We took Linda out for dinner at a local bar-b-que restaurant. Then we did a letterbox. Fun.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 5 Fuquay-Varina, NC - Charlottesvill

    June 29, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    305 miles

    We had a leisurely departure from Linda’s house. We even stopped at a few garage sales.

    We arrived at Winnie Minear’s place near Richmond at exactly 1pm as planned. We treated Winnie to Outback Steakhouse. It had been a while since Winnie had eaten there.

    Winnie served over 35 years in Honduras and retired just before the CAM merger with Avant. She’s involved in her local church. We sat around the table recounting similar experiences and friends. She attended Moody in 1979.

    We then drove onto Charlottesville to the Schroeder’s home. They have converted their basement to a 1 room efficiency apartment designed first weary travelers like us. Nice nice place. We feel very welcomed and loved.

    We took Phil and Sylvia out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. In our conversation, we discovered that Phil and Glenn were on the same floor, Culbertson 18th floor, in 1973 for 1 semester. Wow. Who knew that years later we would connect?

    Phil and Sylvia served many years with GMU/Avant in Italy and have now retired.

    We are here til Tuesday morning.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 6 Lynchburg, VA roundtrip

    June 30, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    154 miles

    We met Jack and Carolyn at their church for Sunday morning Worship. Beautiful service and church. We enjoyed lunch at TRUSS, a remodeled warehouse that is now a fancy and quiet restaurant. We’ve had a very enjoyable brunch and our conversation was so fun.

    We first met Jack and Carolyn on the Trans-Atlantic cruise in 2012 when they were attending a worship service. They gave us the idea and the importance of organizing a worship service while on a cruise ship - which we have done many times since and have enjoyed meeting new friends this way.

    We’ve kept in contact over the years. We’ve exchange Christmas cards and emails. Several years ago when we were driving to Colorado Springs, we stopped in Wichita Falls and had lunch with them, then one year, the Hills were on a Panama Canal cruise and we were their “excursion” as we met them at Puerto Quetzal and drove them up to Antigua for lunch and back to the port.

    So, it was rewarding to visit with them again, since they have moved to Lynchburg a few years back.

    But it gets better than this. Carolyn says, “hey you should join us on our cruise to Barcelona!” I said, “It’s in leaving on October 21?” “And is it NCL Sky?” You Betcha. We gave each other “high-fives” and bellowed out, “I can’t believe this?” It is so cool that we’ll be on the same upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise with friends we haven’t sailed with in over 10 years.

    Our conversation around the table was God-honoring, challenging and full of laughs and gratefulness to God since we can not control the circumstances around us and we can only Trust Him.

    Glenn and I explored “the old city Cemetery” in Lynchburg, looking for a letterbox, but didn’t find it. We took the long way home, back to the Schroeder’s home where we are staying.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 7 A Day to do nothing but REST

    July 1, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    We had a much needed day off. We slept in. I caught up on some emails. Then at 10:30am, we had our monthly Avant Retiree Zoom call. There were about 13 screens open and we had a great time of sharing and catching up.

    I also FaceTime with Ellen. Elizabeth had a big smile (snuggled tooth)

    For lunch, I made sandwiches and then we took a nap.

    For dinner, Phil and Sylvia prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner for us. Did I say delicious. We enjoyed our conversation.

    We noticed the deer in their yard.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 8 Charlotesville, VA - Reston, VA

    July 2, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    113 miles

    Another day, nice drive through the countryside up to the Reston, Virginia area. We had lunch with the DeWitts at their favorite pizza place. We recounted stories of how we had the empty camera equipment boxes from the bicycle trip mailed out to their DC house from California and how they kept the boxes till the end of Neil’s Coast to Coast trip. We’re so thankful that they were able to help us out. And then how when the camera guy, Jonathan, needed to mail them back to the company, he unfortunately forgot to remove the old address and the boxes were sent FEDEX back to the DeWitts house. It wasn’t funny at the time.

    We then drove to Walgreens to pick up my medication, however it wasn’t ready. We’ll get it tomorrow. Next stop was the Stites’s house. Betty next door let us in and gave us a tour. We are so grateful that the Stites are allowing us to stay here. Perfect spot. Perfect location.

    We had a 3:30pm Zoom call, that was cancelled or rescheduled. Then a call into Apple to work on syncing my email accounts on both of my devices. Then a 6:15pm Zoom call with the Guatemala field. Not very many people showed up.

    Glenn and I made a homemade cheesecake and decorated it like the American Flag - since 4th of July is just around the corner.

    For dinner, we enjoyed a very delightful time at Jim and Heidi Hansing, longtime supporters for us. They have prayed for us and they have supported our ministry. And wow, oh, the stories of times we took them to the lake, Antigua, Panajachel, over to the Foot’s house, climbing Pacaya, visiting with Margaret & Josh Perry, doing casita Benjamin, SETECA, Bob Henriques, the dump, the cemetery, boat ride, Nancy dress shop, and Nelly’s souvenir store etc. It was so fun to sit out on the back porch and recall all the precious memories we shared. Glenn even drove the family to Cobán to see other missionaries and go to some beautiful waterfalls.

    Yes, One FULL day. Full day of blessing and enjoying God’s faithfulness.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 9 Reston, VA - Fairfax, VA

    July 3, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    54 miles
    TOTAL miles 2,147

    Today, we saw the Seagers, the Cassadas and the Whittle’s.

    We enjoyed a quick 20 minute visit with Thane and Joy. Thane is 90 and Joy a young 83. We recounted times we have stayed in their home over the years. We have stayed with the Seagers as a family, then in 2006, Sherrie and I visited DC for a few days.

    Thane’s health is challenging. I don’t think he recognized us but nevertheless he laughed and smiled. It was a privilege to count Joy and Thane true friends that have prayed for us for years.

    We had lunch with Pat and Courtney Cassada over a bowl of salad. Glenn wore his Dallas Cowboys shirt, especially since Pat is a die-hard Cowboy fan. We love talking about challenges in our lives, aging parents and children.

    After an afternoon nap, we treated Avant retirees, Lee and Dianne Whittle at a local diner. They served for years in El Salvador, Spain and in the US.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 10 Happy 4th of July

    July 4, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Miles 31
    Total miles 2196

    We found a local Bolivian restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia that served saltenas and even fried yucca. Since the holiday traffic was so light, we ventured out. Delicious. Delicious. Brought back memories of our days in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Glenn even ordered fried yucca.

    Afterwards, we were heading towards the mall to see the sights such as Washington monument and the Lincoln Memorial, etc. Then I suggested we do a letterbox in the local cemetery. There were about 7 planted there and we found 4! Success

    We came home and did some computer work and now we’re waiting to watch the 4th of July special in 1/2 hour    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 11 Walk thru the Trails

    July 5, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Miles 0
    Total miles 2196

    Today is going to be a hot one. Suppose to be 95 and lots of humidity.

    I was sick during the night - and surely the Bolivian saltena didn’t make me sick?

    Today, we took a nice walk through the trails around the house especially before it gets really really hot.

    I’m using this day to get caught up on some different accounts such as Avant, Constant contact, Allianz insurance, zoom and NCL -all are needing a fone call or emails to construct.

    Saturday, we drive to Pennsylvania via Mount Vernon with lunch with Wayne and Laura.

    The Stites home has been such a blessing to recharge, rest and reconnect with dear friends in the area. Amazing that we haven’t met yet they opened their heart and home to us while they were away. God is good.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 12 Reston, VA - Denver, Pa

    July 6, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 81 °F

    Miles: 193
    Total 2389

    We had a lovely visit with Wayne and Laura in their home in Alexandria, Virginia. Then we drove to Mount Vernon, the homestead for George Washington. They live only 1 mile from this national landmark. We took the tour of the plantation, saw different rooms and even walked on the grounds. It over looks the Potomac River.

    Wayne and Laura treated us to the tour and the lunch in the restaurant. I had soup and salad. Glenn had an omelette. Delicious. Oh, it was very hot today. I mean very hot.

    We left after lunch and headed towards Denver, Pennsylvania, just outside of Lancaster. We are staying with Jonathan and Susan, friends of Phil and Bobbie Burks from Tyler. We stopped at the road side park in Maryland, then continued on our way.

    We had dinner with the Yoders and talked a bout everyone under the sun. Very good conversation and we found common friends we knew of. We reviewed our week’s activities and they did the same.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 13 Lancaster, Pa Calvary Church

    July 7, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    37 miles
    Total miles 2426

    Today we attended the famous Calvary Church. Nice worship service.

    We drove over to see Dr Eric Crichton, He is 103 years old. Sharp and together. He did fall recently and is in assisted living. His daughter, Heather was with him.

    Dr Crichton was Moody alumni of the year back in 1991. We made some connections with Heather. She served as a missionary nurse with SEND back in the 70’s and worked with my dear friend, Carol Boerckel. Small world - Big family.

    Glenn and I ate lunch at a local Friendly restaurant. Then we drove thru Amish farm land. Saw some horse and buggy. We drive to Lititz to get the famous pretzels. Yum.

    We took a good afternoon nap then a late evening walk thru the neighborhood.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 14 Dever,PA - New Holland,PA

    July 8, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 93 °F

    Miles 50
    Total miles 2476

    Today, we had a delicious lunch with Irv and Janet Wenger along with Maryanne Sharp. We picked up MaryAnne and drove to Lapp Valley Farm Creamery and Cafe.

    I ordered Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich which Glenn and I shared. We also enjoyed a creamy ice cream cone. Afterwards we dropped by their home at a retirement center. Nice place.

    The Wengers served 40 years in Guatemala while Maryann and her late husband served for 30+ years in Ecuador then she served 10 years in Malaga, Spain. We loved sharing our lives and learning from each other. They appreciated the gift bag we gave them and spoke of how they enjoyed our visit.

    We returned to a 1 hour zoom call, then joined the Yoders for their grandson’s 4th birthday party.

    Glenn and I then went walking as the sun was setting. The temperature was cooling down. As we walked back, a gal, named Lynn, was driving into her garage in a red convertible Miata. I yelled out “I sure would love a ride in your convertible”. Next thing I knew, Glenn was holding my fone and off we drove. Interesting conversation with Lynn. Learned she’s a special Ed teacher and her husband is a retired school psychologist who is a cyclist. Matter of fact, he was hit while riding, broke his neck and other bones and should have died.

    I shared with Lynn about Glenn’s 1976 bike ride to South America and our 2019 Coast to Coast with Neil Tomba. I gave her our card, and mentioned “the Listening Road”.

    An end to a wonderful day - convertible ride.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 15 Denver, PA - Pemberton, NJ

    July 9, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Miles 115
    Total miles 2581

    Early sunrise. We left to head towards New Holland to meet up with Verna and Earl Martin, friends we’ve known for 30 years from Intermissions. The Martins would bring a volunteer team down to Guatemala each year in February for the annual conference. What a fun time. Our conversations was even better as we discussed family, friends, travel, challenges, the Word and God.

    While driving towards Philadelphia in the Amish farming community, we pulled off the road at a local fruit and vegetable stand to buy some fresh local peaches. Delicious.

    We then drove to the O’Briens house for another visit. We were heading towards Texas Road house when we realized they didn’t open till 4:30, so we chose Golden Coral next door. Wow, it was neat to catch up with them also. Their daughter-in-law was in candidate class 30 years ago with us. She’s also a friend of Ellen’s from Bolivia. Again it was fun to talk around the table and hear how God has been faithful in Jack and Julie O’Brien’s lives.

    After lunch, we stopped at Ross for me to purchase some tennis shoes. Also at Dollar Tree to get some more gift bags.

    We arrived at Bob and Fritzie Strong in time for Bible study followed by the soccer game Spain vs Canada.

    I fell asleep during the game.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 16 Pemberton, NJ - Malaga, NJ

    July 10, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    Miles 170
    Total miles 2762

    We spent the night with Bob and Fritzie Strong, who served many years in Argentina and Uruguay. Wow, what heros of the faith!

    We arrived just as they were beginning a Spanish Bible study. I went to our room and took a much needed name from 7:30-10:30 when Glenn came into our room. Glenn also watched the Copa America game with Argentina and Canada.

    We slept in til 7:30am when Fritzie knocked on our door. Guess we were tired. We had a lovely breakfast out on the patio. Then a devotional time and small discussion. Then we drove down to Malaga and met with Ralph Harvey. Ralph was a hoot. He and his late wife served many many years in Austria. He could tell a story. We talked about his journey and education at Bob Jones University.

    Glenn had problems with his iPhone, so we called apple support. That took an extra hour of our time.

    We drove back via Valley Forge and enjoyed the historical stuff we learned. Back to the Yoders by 8:30pm. Good day.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 17 Reading, PA round trip

    July 11, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    27 miles
    Total miles 2788

    We visited with Jane and Dennis M today for lunch in Reading at the Longhorns Restaurant. Good friends. We first met them on a cruise several years ago and have stayed in touch. He is a birder.

    As we were driving back to the Yoder’s home we stopped by a small roadside picnic area/restaurant for homemade ice-cream. We watched children play in the water of a stream.

    Then stopping by a local family owned grocery store to purchase ingredients to make my cheesecake dessert. And there was a pretzel truck selling homemade pretzel.

    We had a fun and easy day today. Nice to be with friends we don’t see too often.

    We had a delicious dinner that Susan prepared.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 18 Trout Run, PA round trip

    July 12, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    352 Miles
    Miles total 3140

    Today, we drove over 300 miles to go up to visit Katherine and Kevin Stabler, YWAM missionaries that served with us in Bolivia. Our lives didn’t cross much back in the day, but we sure enjoyed their friendship over the years.

    We sat around the breakfast bar and enjoyed our conversation reliving sweet memories of the past. We remembered how we drove out to San Ignacio back with the kids were little. We saw where they were building a school for the folks in their church. We used a bucket to take C.O.L.D. Showers and learned how to milk a cow. Fun times.

    We made 2 quick FaceTime calls so Katherine could see Ellen’s 2 youngest and visit with Ellen over the phone. We also talked to dad. They showed us around their farm house, built up on the hill overlooking the small valley. Kevin is a hunter and this is a perfect location for him. I’m so happy for their ministry through the years and their impact on global workers.

    We had tried to get tickets for Sight and Sound and they were not available, so we asked Jonathan and Susan to join us for dinner at Shady Maple, a traditional Swedish/Amish Smorgasbord Restaurant. We drove the 2.5 hours back towards the Yoder’s home and met them at the restaurant.

    Yes, I am stuffed. It was a fun experience. Then we showed Jonathan and Susan how the letter box thing works. We found one right on the back parking lot of Shady Maple.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 19 Denver, PA - Concord, NH

    July 13, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    490 miles
    Total miles 3630

    We were able to leave around 7am to head towards Maine. I intentionally planned a “hotel” stay so we could just relax and “decompress” from all the visiting we have been doing for the past 19 days. I really “waffled” between which route to take, either by skirting the large cities of New York and Boston or by taking a simply longer route and head north before heading east.

    We decided to head north and drive through the Pocono mountains. Beautiful drive. The day started off a little rainy, but it cleared up within 1 hour. Just as we were leaving the Yoder’s place, I emailed Jim and Amelia Lantz and mentioned we were driving through their area. I didn’t know exactly where they had settled in, but I knew it was New Hampshire and I know New Hampshire is not a large state.

    We stopped along the Interstate in a town called Cobleskill, NY for a roadside picnic. This was just a little picnic table and nice manicured lawn. We tried to find a “letterbox” in this town, but was unsuccessful.

    Just after we had lunch, I got a text from Amelia welcoming us to their home and the address. I looked on the map, and we were going to be driving within 45minutes of their house. We rerouted ourselves and head to their home.

    We met Jim and Amelia plus their growing family back in the 90’s in Santa Cruz, Bolivia while Jim worked for the oil company and we were missionaries. Then in 1999 they moved and we moved the following year. We have not seen each other since 1999.

    What a sweet time to reconnect and remember the fun times we had as families together. One example was when we took the Lantz family out to Ricon de Tigre, a missionary compound serving the Ayore Indians. We took the 15 hour primitive train ride from Santa Cruz to Robore or maybe the stop beyond that. The train came to a rolling stop, and we jumped off the train with hopes that Samuel was there to pick us up in his small private plane and fly us to Ricon. What an experience to then spend the next several days with Sam and Pamfi and learn about their ministry of local church and education for the Ayore Indians. Our accommodations were simple. The water was cold for the showers and the food was simple. Rincon has their own clinic, schools, church and farm. They shoot and kill their meat, raise their own chickens and milk the cows. It was quite the educational experience for us.

    All this to say, we are thankful for the long weekend experience of learning about the challenges and rewards of serving the Ayore Indians. And it was a good experience to share with Jim and Amalia.

    After a great sandwich dinner out on their back porch, we headed on down the road to Concord, NH. We got a linguistic lesson, as you pronounce this town as “Conquered”. We arrived at the hotel tired and bushed. We only have 4-5 hours for our Sunday drive to Maine.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 20 Concord, NH - Knox, ME

    July 14, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    224 Miles
    Total Miles 3854

    We woke up in NH to see on the TV news coverage of the attempted assassination of President Trump. Wow.

    At breakfast, we asked a couple to join us. Found out that they are from Texas and were up to Maine to see relatives. We had an engaging conversation.

    We took the long road to Henry and Vicki’s place. Hiway 202, that went through every small town in Maine. An absolutely beautiful ride. We stopped at a local park for our picnic. The sun was quite hot. We tried to do a letterbox but couldn’t find it.

    We also stopped at a mom and pop’s ice cream shop. I chose black raspberry and Glenn chose coffee ice cream.

    Henry and Vicki grilled chicken along with corn and green salad. Delicious. We loved recounting old Bolivia days. We worked with the Coopers in Bolivia from 1986-2000. And their son, Ben and our Gary were best friends going through elementary school .

    We continued on our journey to the Stroud’s home in Knox, Maine. And we arrived here just after sunset and just at the beginning of the big soccer game. I fell asleep upstairs while Glenn stayed downstairs and watched the game.

    Maine is just beautiful dotted with all these small ponds and lakes.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 21 Round trip Hermon, ME

    July 15, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    98 Miles
    Total Miles 3952

    We had a very relaxing day. We had planned to meet and take the Hicks out for lunch, but we quickly pivoted when they had a noon conflict, so we offered to take them out for an early dinner.

    Glenn and I enjoyed our breakfast with Melissa and Larry. We talked about their ministry in Argentina, their kids and their transition back to the US and all that it involved. We talked about his church responsibilities, his recent set back with illness and hospitalization and his retirement journey.

    I came upstairs to our room and did some late morning work on the computer. I worked on some future appointments that we will be having in Canada later this week and I did some emails. I then took a quick Power Nap before we headed to the Hick’s home about 45 minutes away.

    Glenn and I drove Melissa and Larry as they commentated along the way. Maine is a beautiful state. Rolling hills, green pastures and farmlands. Once at Hick’s home, we decided to drive to Longhorn Restaurant for dinner. Glenn and I shared a salmon dinner while others enjoyed steak. It was here I gave the ladies the gift bag that I had organized before we left Texas. They loved it.

    A young couple in a HUGE pickup truck offered to take a group picture of the 3 couples. They were too funny. They even took a selfie of themselves. Glenn requested that the backdrop be their gragantic huge elevated pick up truck.

    We drove back home in time to watch the RNC opening session. Yes, I had tears in my eyes when I saw Trump walk out, knowing that he escaped death by a fraction of an inch.

    Also I have been in communication with Amelia, whom we just saw 2 nights ago. I had encouraged her to think about joining us for our upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise in October. And now she has booked the cruise and made hotel reservations in New York City and bus ticket from their home in NH to NYC. God is so good. So thankful. And we hadn’t seen barely spoke to each other in 25 years, however our conversation, laughs and encouragement was right there as if we had never been a part. Amelia and Jim are looking forward to this last minute cruise experience.

    For these 3 nights, we have been staying with Melissa and Larry who live in the parsonage just within walking distance of their church where he has been the pastor. The upstairs room had been adequate for me to continue my correspondence and email.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 22 Belfast, ME Roundtrip

    July 16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    106 miles
    Total miles 4,058

    I spent the morning doing some much needed correspondence as I arrange for the next few days while in Canada and also while in Michigan and Indiana. It’s been hard to nail some things down, but it is coming together.

    We left at 10:30am for a morning drive to the church, the local Mennonite farm store, post office and then down over to Belfast and then Camden and back home.

    We did find a letterbox in Camden. We had tried a letterbox in Belfast but the directions were so unclear and we just gave up. However, it was fun to finally get the letterbox in a vacant parking lot next to the Camden Inn.

    We came home for supper and then we played a game of Sequence. We lost. Big day ahead with traveling up to Canada.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 23 Knox, ME - Cornwall, ON

    July 17, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    343 miles
    Total miles 4,401

    We left the Strouts home bright and early at 5:50! The sun was already risen and the streets were still pretty curvy. We ate breakfast as we drove through the hilly roads. At one point we were driving along a beautiful river. Flowing.

    We were driving through the US/Canada border by 10:30am and reaching the large city of Sherbrooke. I had chosen out a Choice hotel, however it was sold out.

    We decided to drive on. Next big town was Cornwall, Ontario Canada. We pulled off the interstate and found a coffee shop that had picnic tables out in the yard. We ate tuna fish sandwiches, carrots and yogurt.

    Glenn wanted Tim Nortons donuts. They speak French. The barista could not understand our order. So instead of getting donuts, the barista gave us a cold coffee. Oh well.

    We’ve stayed at Hampton Inn. As the quality Inn here in Cornwall was kinda sketchy.

    We drove to Walmart to get iceberg lettuce, carrots, dressing and croutons to make salad for dinner. And we’ll have salad again for Thursday lunch.    Read more

  • Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

    Day 24 Cornwall, On - Kingston, On

    July 18, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    122 miles
    Miles total 4,523

    We were able to have late checkout for the night. While Glenn loaded the RAV4, I took the lettuce and salad stuff down to the dining room and we had another indoor picnic.

    We checked the options of driving back to US to drop off my postcards, but since there is a 3.50 each way toll, we decided against that option and made other plans.

    I had my haircut. Yep, it needed a good summertime cut, then we headed towards Kingston. We decided to drive the coastal route, route 2. Beautiful. Relaxing.

    We are staying with A Candle in the window friends, Andrew and sharon Fung. Get this, she grew up with Lisa and Arnold Smyth, that do member care in Ireland. Small world, no big family.

    We ate dinner out on the back patio, enjoyed playing Uno with the kids while chatting. Fun and encouraging!    Read more

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